tòng kǔ
pain; agony; sore
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我很痛苦。
wǒ hěn tòngkǔ.
I am in pain.
他看起来很痛苦。
tā kànqǐlái hěn tòngkǔ.
He looks like he is in pain.
这件事让我很痛苦。
zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ hěn tòngkǔ.
This matter makes me very painful.
快乐 (kuàilè)
happy
幸福 (xìngfú)
happy
The Chinese word 痛苦 (tòngkǔ) for "pain" or "suffering" is composed of two characters: 痛 (tòng) and 苦 (kǔ). The character 痛 originally meant "to be wounded" or "to feel pain," and it is composed of the radical 疒 (chuáng), which indicates illness or disease, and the phonetic component 甬 (yǒng). The character 苦 originally meant "bitter" or "difficult," and it is composed of the radical 艹 (cǎo), which indicates plants or vegetation, and the phonetic component 古 (gǔ). When combined, the two characters 痛 and 苦 form the compound word 痛苦, which takes on the meaning of "pain" or "suffering." This combination of characters effectively conveys the idea of both physical and emotional distress, capturing the essence of the experience of pain and suffering.
